Oral exposure to ovalbumin alters glucose metabolism in sensitized mice: upregulation of HIF-1α-mediated glycolysis

Food allergies are pathological adverse reactions against harmless dietary proteins. While studies have shown the involvement of host metabolic changes (e.g., lipid metabolism and amino acid metabolism) in the development of food allergy (FA), the adaptive changes in glucose metabolism induced by food allergen exposure remain largely unclear. In this study, BALB/c mice were sensitized intraperitoneally with an ovalbumin (OVA)/aluminum adjuvant, followed by oral OVA challenges to induce anaphylaxis. Increased levels of serum OVA-specific IgE and MCPT-1, and Th2 response bias were also presented in FA mice. Subsequently, the intestinal untargeted metabolomic analysis revealed the signature enrichment of glycolysis, manifested by increases in glycolytic metabolites including glucose-6-phosphate, fructose-6-phosphate, 2-phosphoglycerate, and lactate in FA mice. Consistently, the serum lactate level was found to be significantly elevated in allergic mice. Oral administration of OVA also upregulated the expression of critical metabolic enzymes in glycolysis, namely hexokinase 2, phosphoglycerate mutase 1, and lactate dehydrogenase. Moreover, the hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) signaling pathway was activated in FA mice, and the expression of HIF-1 alpha, known as the upstream regulator of glycolysis, was increased after oral OVA challenges. In vitro inhibition of HIF-1 alpha was found to impede mast cell inflammatory responses to allergens. In summary, this study demonstrated that OVA-induced FA exhibited a glucose metabolic feature of HIF-1 alpha-mediated glycolysis upregulation, suggesting the potential of HIF-1 alpha/glycolysis targeted strategies in the alleviation of FA.